Food Fix

It all began with a cheese course served nightly on a barge cruise that Mitch Mitchler was taking with his wife in the mid-1990s. Since returning from the French countryside more than a half-dozen years ago, Mr. Mitchler hasn't been able to kick his need for a regular fix of French cheese.

Fortunately, the Internet boom was in full force when the retired industrial-sales manager for Morton Salt Co. finished his cruise. The Yuma, Ariz., resident hooked up with IGourmet.com -- one of the hundreds of sites where e-gourmands...